Zoom celebration of Mikhail's God's Shadow

September 23, 2020

A discussion between Alan Mikhail and Jane Tylus moderated by Kathryn Lofton
Wednesday, September 23 from 5-6:15 p.m.

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://yale.zoom.us/j/91669813792
Or Telephone:203-432-9666 (2-ZOOM if on-campus) or 646 568 7788
Meeting ID: 916 6981 3792
International numbers available: https://yale.zoom.us/u/aiTL3GVNC

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In God’s Shadow, Alan Mikhail presents a vitally needed recasting of Ottoman history, retelling the story of the Ottoman conquest of the world through the dramatic biography of Sultan Selim I (1470-1520). Born to a concubine, and the fourth of his sultan father’s ten sons, Selim was never meant to inherit the throne. With personal charisma and military prowess, Selim claimed power over the empire in 1512 and, through ruthless ambition, nearly tripled the territory under Ottoman control, building a governing structure that lasted into the twentieth century. At the same time, Selim—known by his subjects as “God’s Shadow on Earth”—fostered religious diversity, welcoming Jews among other minority populations into the empire; encouraged learning and philosophy; and penned his own verse. God’s Shadow radically reshapes our understanding of the importance of Selim’s Ottoman Empire in the history of the modern world.